Before the Bulls’ 106-95 loss to the Cavaliers on Thursday night, their fifth straight and 14th in 19 games, Fred Hoiberg was asked about the defending Eastern Conference champion’s acquisition of Channing Frye.

"Very good pickup with his ability to stretch the floor," Hoiberg said.

The Bulls' coach then was quizzed about Justin Holiday, whom the Bulls acquired from the Hawks in a three-team deal that sent out Kirk Hinrich and also netted a 2018 second-round pick from the Jazz and a $2.8 million trade exception that expires in a year. The Bulls also saved roughly $2.8 million of luxury tax penalties.

"Haven't seen a lot of him," Hoiberg said.

Thursday's trade deadline passed with the Cavaliers getting aggressive, joining teams like the Pistons and Hornets that the Bulls currently are battling for lower-tier playoff positions. The Bulls, meanwhile, not only kept Pau Gasol, they doubled down on re-signing him in free agency this summer.

General manager Gar Forman called Gasol "part of our core." Gasol, who turns 36 in July, said the Bulls "for sure" are the leading candidates for his services.

"I'm happy here. I like a lot of things about my situation here. Now let's see if we can make the basketball better," Gasol said. "That would be ideal. If we can fix that, it's obviously something I would want to continue to be a part of."

At the morning shootaround, a relaxed Gasol called chances of him getting dealt "improbable." The Kings pushed, offering some variation of Kosta Koufos, Ben McLemore and looser protection on the potential first-round pick owed the Bulls.

He holds all the cards after the Bulls found no takers on Thursday. Gasol expressed a desire to stay in Chicago and doesn't have to spend...

But the Bulls, who found no takers for Tony Snell and had cursory talks to acquire Shabazz Napier, passed.

"Pau obviously is having a great year," Hoiberg said. "He had a really good season last year and carried it over to the summer where he helped his team win a European championship. I think he has gotten better as the season has gone on. I love what Pau brings. He's a guy who can get Jimmy (Butler) easy baskets with his ability to throw the lob passes and his ability to play-make from all over the floor. Everybody in this organization values Pau a lot."

Gasol did place qualifiers on his preference to re-sign, saying the remaining 29 games would play a factor.

"How we handle this situation and if we're able to overcome it, get more together and united and stronger or we give up or are content with it," Gasol said. "Because that tells you a lot about the character of a team and the people you are around with.

"I don't want to give up on this team just because we're going through some difficulties. Things really haven't turned out the way I wanted them to. But there are things that I couldn't anticipate. All I can do is continue to give my best. And I do still believe we can still turn this thing around a little bit or a lot and put ourselves in a good position."

After having pointed questions about Tom Thibodeau's coaching style, Gasol signed in July 2014 and enjoyed how Thibodeau utilized him. Asked if playing for Hoiberg would influence his free-agent decision, Gasol didn't hesitate.

"I knew this season was going to be a little of a transition, adjusting to the new philosophy, which is pretty different from what we had last year," Gasol said. "But I don't think that will be a downside or negative in this situation."

Hinrich's second tour of duty with the Bulls ended with him ranking third on the all-time franchise list in games, assists and steals behind Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, fourth in minutes behind Jordan, Pippen and Jerry Sloan and first in 3-pointers.

"He has done a lot of wonderful things for this franchise," Hoiberg said. "He'll be missed."

Hinrich, who has four young children and maintained a house in the area even when playing for other teams, said the trade caught him off guard. It's his second stint with the Hawks.

"I was very surprised, shocked really," he said. "I should know by now to be ready to expect anything. But I'm looking forward to going to a good Atlanta team. I don't know what my role will be at all. But I'm familiar with some of the guys down there and obviously lived down there. It's kind of a curve with the family, but it's part of the business."

Hinrich said he hasn't decided on whether he'll retire after this, his 13th season.

"I'm going to play it out, try to help the Hawks and figure it out this summer," he said.

A version of this article appeared in print on February 19, 2016, in the Sports section of the Chicago Tribune with the headline "Gasol remains in the picture - Veteran stays put, hopes team turns it around" —
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